Here is my amateur review of the Hazro HZ30Wie and Dell U3011 monitors. I hope this is useful for anyone considering buying one of these screens.
Build quality:
Hazro:
Extremely solid. The stand is very heavy and is a separate piece fixed to the screen with four screws. Given the weight of the screen the stand holds up very well indeed. Very little wobble. The stand is fully adjustable (height, tilt etc) but takes some work to do it – if you need to adjust it regularly then it will be a nuisance. The screen can also be mounted in portrait mode but I can’t see why you would want to with a screen so large.
The height adjustment was problematic. At its lowest setting the screen sits quite high off the desk meaning that I had to look upwards quite often. This may have given me neck ache after extended use.
Dell:
This monitor is fully assembled, literally unbox then plug and play. The stand is reasonably solid but the weight of the screen does make it wobble considerably more than the Hazro. Adjustment wise the Dell wins hands down. The height adjustment, tilt and swivel couldn’t be easier.
Height adjustment is perfect. At its lowest setting the screen is virtually sitting on the desk which for a 30” screen is really where it needs to be.
Height adjustment:
Interestingly when the Dell is set to its maximum height it’s exactly the same as the Hazro at its minimum height (see the first pic). For me that it far too high. The picture below shows the other extreme, the Dell at its lowest and the Hazro at its highest.
Picture quality:
Hazro:
Straight out of the box the Hazro is very bright. Lowering the brightness too far causes a strobing effect and therefore needs to be set bright to compensate. I did get used to the brightness very quickly and the colours were sharp and vivid.
The anti-glare coating on the Hazro is visible on light coloured backgrounds but I had no issue at all reading text. For me personally the anti glare wasn’t a problem at all.
My screen had one stuck pixel slightly off centre of the screen which was bright red on a white background. For a budget screen this was to be expected. The pixels are quite small and in general usage I wouldn’t have noticed it very often. It did begin to bother me slightly but only because I knew it was there.
Viewing angles appear to be a problem on this screen. At its lowest setting the bottom 25% of the screen looked darker than the rest. This went away if the screen was moved higher, however it was then too high to comfortably use.
Dell:
The default colour settings on the Dell were spot on. The brightness was a little low on default settings (50 brightness and 50 contrast – I have bumped brightness up to 62).
The anti glare is a little heavier on the Dell but again isn’t an issue for me. White backgrounds look fairly dull compared to the Hazro but this may partly be because of the brightness settings. My screen sits behind a window so the anti-glare is quite useful. There were no issues reading text which was clear and sharp.
The Dell didn’t have a single dead or stuck pixel, which is what I expected from this price range of screen. I’m happy knowing that the warranty covers me should anything untoward develop.
Functionality:
Hazro:
There’s not a lot to say about the Hazro. It has a single DVI-D input and three buttons on the back of the screen, one for power and two to adjust the brightness up and down. That’s it, no settings to adjust, no calibration, just plug in the cable and you’re done. Colour settings would have to be adjusted from the operating system.
The Hazro does not have HDCP support. OCUK have confirmed that all of the Hazro screens they currently sell (as at April 2012) do not have HDCP. This contradicts various sources, including the manual that Hazro supply. OCUK tell me that the screen is HDCP ‘capable’ but this involves buying and installing an HDCP chip.
Heat is an issue on this screen. Once it has been running for a while the top gets extremely hot, enough to burn if you left your hand on there for more than a couple of seconds. This doesn’t affect the screen in any way and it is completely silent. I was surprised about the heat given that the Hazro has an external power block.
Dell:
This screen has it all. Multiple inputs (2x DVI-D, 2x HDMI, VGA, display port, audio) in addition to two USB slots and a card reader. The card reader had no issue reading SDHC cards which is a bonus because my old card reader didn’t like them.
The Dell is HDCP capable and worked straight out of the box. Blu-Rays are a pleasure to watch on a screen this size.
Given that the Dell has an internal power supply is doesn’t generate much heat at all. Much cooler than I was expecting.
The on-screen display is a pleasure to use. The buttons are heat sensitive and light up blue when the OSD is active. They are responsive and each press gives an audible beep, including the power button. I’ve only needed to use the buttons to change source so I can view my other PC or laptop which are also hooked up to the screen.
One strange issue with the Dell is power coming through the DVI-D cable. When my second PC is turned off the CPU fan and any case fans connected to the motherboard continue to spin. I’ve not yet got to the bottom of why this happens.
Summary:
I paid £594 for the Hazro and £810 for the Dell, both from OCUK (thanks to a 10% off voucher from the Facebook promotion). Without any doubt the best screen is the Dell and is worth every penny over the Hazro. This is like comparing a Ford Mondeo to a Mercedes. Although the engine size might be the same the Dell oozes quality and finesse while the Hazro does its job at the most basic level.
I was led to believe that the Hazro had HDCP and this was a deal breaker for me and the reason for returning it under DSR. I’m actually pleased I ended up replacing it with the Dell because nothing on this screen niggles me other than the slightly wobbly stand.
If you can afford the Dell then don’t hesitate in buying one. The additional cost is worth it for the numerous outputs, OSD and exceptional warranty. If you only have enough money for the Hazro 30”then give serious consideration to getting the 27” Dell as an alternative.
And finally a pic of both the 30” screens behind my beloved 5-year-old 22” Dell, just to show how massive these screens are.
Build quality:
Hazro:
Extremely solid. The stand is very heavy and is a separate piece fixed to the screen with four screws. Given the weight of the screen the stand holds up very well indeed. Very little wobble. The stand is fully adjustable (height, tilt etc) but takes some work to do it – if you need to adjust it regularly then it will be a nuisance. The screen can also be mounted in portrait mode but I can’t see why you would want to with a screen so large.
The height adjustment was problematic. At its lowest setting the screen sits quite high off the desk meaning that I had to look upwards quite often. This may have given me neck ache after extended use.
Dell:
This monitor is fully assembled, literally unbox then plug and play. The stand is reasonably solid but the weight of the screen does make it wobble considerably more than the Hazro. Adjustment wise the Dell wins hands down. The height adjustment, tilt and swivel couldn’t be easier.
Height adjustment is perfect. At its lowest setting the screen is virtually sitting on the desk which for a 30” screen is really where it needs to be.
Height adjustment:
Interestingly when the Dell is set to its maximum height it’s exactly the same as the Hazro at its minimum height (see the first pic). For me that it far too high. The picture below shows the other extreme, the Dell at its lowest and the Hazro at its highest.
Picture quality:
Hazro:
Straight out of the box the Hazro is very bright. Lowering the brightness too far causes a strobing effect and therefore needs to be set bright to compensate. I did get used to the brightness very quickly and the colours were sharp and vivid.
The anti-glare coating on the Hazro is visible on light coloured backgrounds but I had no issue at all reading text. For me personally the anti glare wasn’t a problem at all.
My screen had one stuck pixel slightly off centre of the screen which was bright red on a white background. For a budget screen this was to be expected. The pixels are quite small and in general usage I wouldn’t have noticed it very often. It did begin to bother me slightly but only because I knew it was there.
Viewing angles appear to be a problem on this screen. At its lowest setting the bottom 25% of the screen looked darker than the rest. This went away if the screen was moved higher, however it was then too high to comfortably use.
Dell:
The default colour settings on the Dell were spot on. The brightness was a little low on default settings (50 brightness and 50 contrast – I have bumped brightness up to 62).
The anti glare is a little heavier on the Dell but again isn’t an issue for me. White backgrounds look fairly dull compared to the Hazro but this may partly be because of the brightness settings. My screen sits behind a window so the anti-glare is quite useful. There were no issues reading text which was clear and sharp.
The Dell didn’t have a single dead or stuck pixel, which is what I expected from this price range of screen. I’m happy knowing that the warranty covers me should anything untoward develop.
Functionality:
Hazro:
There’s not a lot to say about the Hazro. It has a single DVI-D input and three buttons on the back of the screen, one for power and two to adjust the brightness up and down. That’s it, no settings to adjust, no calibration, just plug in the cable and you’re done. Colour settings would have to be adjusted from the operating system.
The Hazro does not have HDCP support. OCUK have confirmed that all of the Hazro screens they currently sell (as at April 2012) do not have HDCP. This contradicts various sources, including the manual that Hazro supply. OCUK tell me that the screen is HDCP ‘capable’ but this involves buying and installing an HDCP chip.
Heat is an issue on this screen. Once it has been running for a while the top gets extremely hot, enough to burn if you left your hand on there for more than a couple of seconds. This doesn’t affect the screen in any way and it is completely silent. I was surprised about the heat given that the Hazro has an external power block.
Dell:
This screen has it all. Multiple inputs (2x DVI-D, 2x HDMI, VGA, display port, audio) in addition to two USB slots and a card reader. The card reader had no issue reading SDHC cards which is a bonus because my old card reader didn’t like them.
The Dell is HDCP capable and worked straight out of the box. Blu-Rays are a pleasure to watch on a screen this size.
Given that the Dell has an internal power supply is doesn’t generate much heat at all. Much cooler than I was expecting.
The on-screen display is a pleasure to use. The buttons are heat sensitive and light up blue when the OSD is active. They are responsive and each press gives an audible beep, including the power button. I’ve only needed to use the buttons to change source so I can view my other PC or laptop which are also hooked up to the screen.
One strange issue with the Dell is power coming through the DVI-D cable. When my second PC is turned off the CPU fan and any case fans connected to the motherboard continue to spin. I’ve not yet got to the bottom of why this happens.
Summary:
I paid £594 for the Hazro and £810 for the Dell, both from OCUK (thanks to a 10% off voucher from the Facebook promotion). Without any doubt the best screen is the Dell and is worth every penny over the Hazro. This is like comparing a Ford Mondeo to a Mercedes. Although the engine size might be the same the Dell oozes quality and finesse while the Hazro does its job at the most basic level.
I was led to believe that the Hazro had HDCP and this was a deal breaker for me and the reason for returning it under DSR. I’m actually pleased I ended up replacing it with the Dell because nothing on this screen niggles me other than the slightly wobbly stand.
If you can afford the Dell then don’t hesitate in buying one. The additional cost is worth it for the numerous outputs, OSD and exceptional warranty. If you only have enough money for the Hazro 30”then give serious consideration to getting the 27” Dell as an alternative.
And finally a pic of both the 30” screens behind my beloved 5-year-old 22” Dell, just to show how massive these screens are.
